NIOSH Seeks Help Improving Wikipedia’s Public Education on Hearing

Abstract

The number of top genes associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has risen from 65 to 102, based on an analysis of more than 35,000 sequences published in the journal Cell.Researchers are also seeing the first hints of autism risk variants in the regions between genes. The analysis is based on sequences of exomes-the protein-coding regions of genomes-pulled from multiple datasets. A 2015 study of 15,000 sequences pinpointed 65 genes with strong ties to autism. The new findings of 102 genes are based on 35,000 people, including nearly 12,000 on the spectrum.The 102 significant genes tend to be highly expressed in developing neurons that excite or dampen neuronal activity. About half of them are also associated with developmental delays.